As Others See Us: Hordes of the Things. I'm told that part three of
the movie of some fantasy novel has been released, leading to the usual sneers
from the great and good. Allan Massie, Scots novelist and critic, was quick to
publish a column in The Scotsman titled 'Sorry, but grown-ups don't read
Tolkien'. Thus: 'His work seems to me closer to science fiction than to myth and
legend, and has the characteristic weakness of that genre: indifference to the
complicated individual human being, indeed ignorance of him and her.'
Howard Jacobson, another novelist turned newspaper pundit, is sure that reading
this stuff can do only harm: 'Start low, end low. Tolkien does not lead
ineluctably to Joyce or Conrad. Tolkien leads ineluctably to more Tolkien. Give
me the child and I will show you the man. Give Tolkien the child and he will
stay a child. [...] If I have my way, owners of these and other works which pose
a similar threat to the continuance of the human intelligence will be able to
deposit them in bins left outside police stations, no questions asked.' (Independent,
20 December) One happily imagines these chaps' blood pressure rising
still further when British postage stamps mark the 50th anniversary of The
Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. The stamps feature
Tolkien's own artwork and will be released on 26 February 2004.

J.G. Ballard was revealed (in leaked 'secret' documents) to be one
of nearly 300 British notables who have turned down state honours. Both Ballard
and Michael Frayn are among the more select 40-odd who refused to be honoured by
Tony Blair's government. (Sunday Times, 21 December) Quoth Ballard, who
declined a CBE for 'so-called services to literature': 'I am opposed to the
honours system. The whole thing is a preposterous charade. Thousands of medals
are given out in the name of a non-existent empire. It makes us look a laughing
stock and encourages deference to the crown. [...] I must say I find it sad to
see left-wing playwrights who have traded on their socialist credentials
throughout their careers accepting knighthoods. People like David Hare who have
worn their socialist credentials on both sleeves kneel in front of the Queen,
It's too much.' Charles Platt laments: 'I greatly regret that we'll never see,
for instance, The Drowned World by Sir J.G. Ballard.'

Celebrity Interview. Taras Wolansky conducted a merciless
interrogation at Philcon, where 'I got a chance to ask Harry Harrison about his
1966 novel, Make Room! Make Room! (a.k.a. Soylent Green). How
had he gotten New York City in the year 2000  population over 30 million,
hundreds of thousands sleeping on the streets  so wrong? The book was not
extrapolation, but "all lies ... pure propaganda", Harrison explained,
and as propaganda he was very pleased with the influence it had over the years.
But "crying wolf" like that, wouldn't it make people disbelieve him
the next time he had a cause to push, I asked. "Fandom is reborn every
year," Harrison replied complacently.'